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Thankfulness \ Parashat Vayaztei

"She named her son Yehudah, which connotes thankfulness to HaShem."

D'var Torah: "And Leah conceived again and bore a son, and she said, 'This time I will thank HaShem. Therefore she named him Yehudah" (Bereishis 29:34).The Talmud derives from this verse that Leah was the first person in history to thank HaShem. In light of the fact that our Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov, surely thanked HaShem, the Talmud's statement seems counterintuitive. The explanation is that Leah assumed that since Yaacov was destined to have twelve sons, each of his four wives would have three sons. However, when Leah had her fourth son, she realized that her sons were not a matter of entitlement. Rather, each son was a gift that HaShem granted from His pure kindness, irrelevant to what she "deserved." Upon recognizing HaShem's extraordinary kindness to her in granting each son, she was inspired to continuously thank HaShem for her entire life. Therefore, she named her son Yehudah, which connotes thankfulness to HaShem. Whenever she remembered Yehudah, she reminded herself to express her thankfulness to HaShem.

Moral: The blessings of our lives are not something we necessarily deserve. Rather, the blessings of our lives emanate from the unbounded love and kindness of HaShem as free gifts. The more we realize the joy of receiving HaShem's infinite goodness, the more we will be inspired to always thank HaShem.

Application: 1. Reflect on the fact that HaShem created you, and continues to create you every second of your existence. 2. Consider that nobody deserved to be created before he existed. 3. Contemplate on the fact that life is so precious that there is no merit that can earn any person the gift of life. 4. Realize that your creation and existence is a wonderful, constant gift from HaShem. 5. Thank HaShem every day, and every second for His miraculous gift of life.

(Based on the commentary of Rav Moshe Aaron Stern)